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Non Western Exhibit

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 As mentioned at the beginning of the semester, I have always been fascinated with Ancient Egyptian culture and art. There is something in their sculptures, pyramids, and art that really captures my mind. That is why I chose to do an art exhibit based upon Egypt. This contains art from an older time period between the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom in Egypt.  Statuette of a Hippopotamus. Meir, Egypt. 1981-1885 B.C. Much like many other Egyptian statutes, I am amazed with artwork from the Middle Kingdom Dynasty in Egypt. This hippopotamus has survived over a thousand years and still maintains a sharp shade of blue; along with the painted river plants on its exterior. With the Nile River having such importance to the ancient Egyptians, the hippopotamus posed a great threat to the people. Hippos have the size and power to overturn boats and rafts. They were also believed to be a threat to travelers in the afterlife. I think the detail that can be seen in the toes and face of the statue ar
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Post Modern Art

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  Feminist Art Movement The Post Modern Era was a time of continued growth, expansion, and some conflict. During this time period there are many movements that carried from the Mid Modern Era into the late 20th Century. This includes The Civil Rights Movement, Women's Movement, advancements in science, expansions of religions, and war. One of the biggest conflicts of this time may include equality, for both African Americans and women. This was an important time for expanding the rights of women. Before the Mid-Post Modern Era, women were often seen as those incapable of doing the job a man could do. However, things began to shift during the Post Modern time period. Women became more politically involved, demanded equal pay and rights, and understood it was time to break unhealthy relations between men and women overall.  Earth Birth, Judy Chicago, 1983, The Brooklyn Museum Judy Chicago was a Feminist Art Movement artist who focused on the power of birth and womanhood. She recogniz
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Early Modern Blog Exhibit

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  WWI Influence on Early Modern Art Also known as the Great War, World War I lasted from 1914 until 1918. This consisted of the allies; France, Great Britain, Italy, Russia, and later the United States. And the Central Powers; Austria-Hungary (the Habsburg Empire), Germany, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Following the end of WWI, a new geo-political landscape emerged from the downfall of three empires: Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian. Despite the preceding development of early modern art, the wake of the war truly catalyzed artistic culture and styles.  Today's well known German painter, George Grosz, was urged at a young age. With time, he developed his skills and attended the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and later studied at the Berlin College of Arts and Crafts. Grosz volunteered for the military service in November of 1914 and it was during this time he observed war first hand. After being discharged in 1917, Grosz turned his efforts towards using his art as a social c
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Romantic Era- Preferences and Perspectives

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Impressionist  The "Impressionist" style of painting has the following attributes. According to artyfactory.com, these artists were: The first group of artists to embrace painting outside. This was partially due to the introduction of paint in tubes, which enabled artists to carry their equipment. They also found it necessary to paint outdoors because they were committed to observing the effects of light on color in nature.  Edgar Degas, Four Dancers , c. 1899, France Four Dancers  by Edgar Degas reflects the outdoor style that was popular in Impressionist paintings. Degas combines the use of small strokes to capture natural light, dancers, and the landscape. As the National Gallery of Art states, "Degas suppressed descriptive detail elsewhere in the painting, emphatic dark lines shape the heads and arms, underlining the artist's formal concerns."  The idea Degas may have been attempting to portray was that the dancers were ballerinas out in nature. He may have
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Classical Blog Exhibit

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  Joseph Wright of Derby, A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at the Orrery, c. 1763-65, Derby.  A key idea of the Age of Enlightenment; that empirical observation grounded in science and reason could best advance society is expressed by the faces of the individuals.  The events depicted do not give A Philosopher Lecturing at the Orrery its high dramatic impact. That responsibility falls on the painting's strong internal light source, the lamp that takes the role of the sun. Wright mimics Baroque artists like Caravaggio, who inserted strong light sources in otherwise dark compositions to create the dramatic effect. Most of these earlier works were Christian subjects, and the light sources were often simple candles. Wright flips the script with his scientific subject matter. The gas lamp which acts as the sun pulls double duty in the painting. It illuminates the scene, allowing the viewer to clearly see the figures within, and it symbolizes the active enlightenment in those figures who a
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Renaissance- Baroque Art

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  Above is a painting called The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio. This was painted in 1599-1600, using oil on canvas. This is located in the Contarelli chapel, San Luigi dei Francesci, Rome. This painting resembles a biblical story of the calling of Saint Matthew. Jesus singles Matthew out and calls on him to join him and his disciples. The characters seem to be dressed in contemporary clothing, setting this event in Caravaggio's time, rather than biblical times.  The Calling of Saint Matthew shows Caravaggio's use of tenebrism and stark contrasts between partially lit figures and dark backgrounds to dramatize the effect. Tenebrism is a term derived from the Italian 'tenebroso' which means darkened and obscuring. It is used to describe a certain type of painting in which significant details such as faces and hands are illuminated by highlights which are contrasted with a dark setting. Light plays an active role in furthering the action/plot, rather than merely c
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Renaissance Blog

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  Shown above is Michelangelo's drawing design of the Church of San Lorenzo facade in Florence, Italy. The Medici Pope Leo X gave Michelangelo the commission to design a facade in white Carrara marble in 1518. I find this piece fascinating due to the fact that Michelangelo was given top priority for this structure. Michelangelo is known as a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet during the Italian Renaissance.  Michelangelo's first contact with the Medici family was when he was a teenage apprentice of the Florentine painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. Michelangelo made a wooden model, which shows how he adjusted classical proportions of the facade.  I'm not sure if I would own a copy of this work, but it would be awesome to attempt a replica drawing of his in the San Lorenzo facade. I have a few friends that work as engineers and builders. Seeing their blueprints of buildings seems to amaze me just as much as this design.  Work Cited  Model for the Facade of San Lorenzo, Casa Bu
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